Written Answers

Wednesday 29 March 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on the outcome of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting on 20 March 2000.

Ross Finnie: I attended the EU Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 20 March as part of the UK delegation led by Mr Nick Brown, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the UK Government. Ms Christine Gwyther, Secretary for Agriculture and the Rural Economy at the National Assembly for Wales was also present.

  The Council had an exchange of views on the Commission’s White Paper on Food Safety, focusing particularly on the case for horizontal legislation providing for controls across the whole food chain, the need for transparency in the operation of controls, and procedures for the effective handling of the results of inspection visits. This, together with debates on the Commission’s White Paper in other Councils, will inform the Commission’s eventual report to Heads of Government.

  The Council agreed on conclusions to guide the Commission in its strategy for accommodating budgetary and WTO pressures in the fixing of export refunds on processed goods. The UK delegation emphasised the importance of export refunds to the cereals-based spirit drinks sector, notably Scotch whisky, and urged the Commission to recognise this concern in its implementation of export refund reductions. A statement to this effect was recorded in the minutes of the Council.

  The Council also had a first discussion of a proposal to maintain the EU subsidised school milk scheme, but on a basis of a reduced EU budget contribution and compulsory co-financing by member states. The UK delegation stressed the importance to the UK of continuing the scheme for the benefit of school children, and requested the Commission to examine other possibilities for savings in the EU milk regime before co-financing had to be considered.

  Amongst other issues discussed in the Council were the present state of negotiations on the EU banana regime and the impact on agriculture of the EU Nitrates Directive. The Council also agreed a request from Italy for authorisation for payment of a state aid in the sugar sector, with Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands abstaining.

Caisteal Tioram

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to prevent Caisteal Tioram from collapsing.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The responsibility for the maintenance of the fabric of Caisteal Tioram rests with the owners. Any works affecting a scheduled monument such as Caisteal Tioram require scheduled monument consent from Scottish Ministers and my officials in Historic Scotland are currently in discussion with the owners about emergency stabilisation works. A scheduled monument consent application for these works is awaited.

Cancer

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when brachytherapy facilities for the treatment of prostate cancer will be set up in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland.

  Improving the care of people with prostate cancer presents many challenges, not least of which is the lack of clinical consensus as to the most appropriate treatment.

  The Chief Medical Officer and the Lead Clinician for Cancer Services/Scottish Cancer Group are currently considering the various issues on my behalf, including how best to facilitate the development of brachytherapy within specific centres in Scotland for those patients who need it and the need for additional specialist training for those clinicians delivering urological-oncology services.

Cancer

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a public campaign to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of prostate cancer.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is determined to address the challenges presented by cancer in all its forms. Towards a Healthier Scotland  includes a commitment to reduce cancer mortality by 20% by 2010.

  There are currently no plans for prostate cancer specific national public awareness campaigns. Rather a comprehensive cancer strategy is being pursued which will bring benefits for Scots everywhere. This strategy ranges from health promotion for children and adults, through early detection, earlier prevention and for those individuals unfortunate enough to need it, speedier diagnosis and the best quality of care possible, in a modernised NHS,

  The Scottish Executive also supports and encourages men’s health initiatives of which there are good examples across the country, such as an annual Men’s Health Weeks and Well Man Clinics. A variety of leaflets and other information are available through a variety of means, including for example the workplace and betting shops. These, and other initiatives, aim to alert men, inter alia, to early cancer symptoms (generally and tumour specific) but importantly also that they must take greater care of, and responsibility for, their own health by seeking medical advice whenever symptoms suggestive of cancer appear.

Charity Law

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3021 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 January 2000, what progress has been made on the establishment of an independent Commission to review and reform charity law in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: I am pleased to announce that the independent Charity Law Commission has now been established. The chair of the Commission is Mrs Jean McFadden, lecturer in law at Strathclyde University and formerly president of CoSLA. The members of the Commission are: -

  Colin Crosby, Fund Manager, Aberdeen Asset Management plc

  Gillian Donald CA, Messrs Scott Moncrieff Downie Wilson CA

  Martyn Evans, Director, Scottish Consumer Council

  Richard Fries, Visiting Fellow of the Centre for Civil Society at the London School of Economics

  Alistair Grimes, Chief Executive, Community Enterprise in Strathclyde

  Keith Jones, Head of Law and Administration (North), Aberdeenshire Council

  Kaliani Lyle, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Association of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux

  Simon Mackintosh, Partner, Messrs Turcan, Connell, Solicitors

  Ian MacPherson, Head of Legal Services, Strathclyde Police

  John Naylor, Secretary and Treasurer of Carnegie United Kingdom Trust

  David Orr, Director, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations

  Avril Sloane, Administrator, Glasgow Educational and Marshall Trust

  Mrs Jeanette Wilson, Solicitor to the Church of Scotland

  Ian MacPherson, Head of Legal Services, Strathclyde Police

  The Commission has been asked to report in one year and its remit is:

  "To review the law relating to charities in Scotland and to make recommendations on any reforms considered necessary.

  In carrying out its remit the Commission will:

  consider the structure of regulation and support for the charitable sector in Scotland

  consider the operational effects of Scottish legislation on charities of all types and size, bearing in mind the need to encourage voluntary and charitable activity and the contribution which the voluntary sector makes to the social economy

  consider how best to provide the charitable sector with definitive advice and information

  consider the requirement to protect the public, ensure high standards among charities but at the same time avoid over-burdensome administrative requirements

  consider whether, in addition to reform, the law should also be consolidated.

  In carrying out its work the Commission will review relevant recent research on charity law, including that carried out by Dundee University."

Crofting

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is reducing funding to the Crofters Building Grants and Loan Scheme.

Ross Finnie: No. The current spending review, of course, requires us to consider all aspects of Rural Affairs Department expenditure, including the Crofters Etc. Building Grants and Loan Scheme.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) provide details on the progress of implementation of Higher Still and (b) invite the Scottish Qualifications Authority to publish, at the end of the current academic year, an assessment of the first year of Higher Still including an account of any problems identified or reported and the action proposed to deal with such problems.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Around 80% of Highers being taught this year are new Highers. Although teachers were given the option to introduce selected Higher courses from next year, around 5,000 courses at Intermediate and Access levels have been introduced voluntarily by schools. HMI observations indicate that teachers are generally implementing Higher Still effectively.

  The inevitable difficulties of change are being dealt with by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and the Higher Still Development Unit, who have also taken steps to ensure that pupils will not be disadvantaged.

  Henry McLeish and I have decided that the Scottish Executive will, as is the practice with all developments, review the first year of implementation of Higher Still and publish the results in the autumn.

Elderly People

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any guidelines in place regarding payment for residential care by elderly people and whether the policies of Moray Council to (a) require elderly property owners to take out a loan to pay for their care until their property is sold and (b) to delay admission to care for people without assets are consistent with these guidelines.

Iain Gray: The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and amendments apply to adults placed in residential and nursing homes by local authorities. The Scottish Executive has issued guidance to local authorities on the application of these regulations. Neither point is directly covered by the regulations or guidance.

Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Bill

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4737 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 14 March 2000, whether it will define what it means by "stable and secure background for the bringing up of children".

Ms Wendy Alexander: A context in which the relationship between the adult or adults and the child or children in the family unit is of a constant nature and one which provides a safe and happy environment for the child or children to grow up in.

Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Bill

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4737 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 14 March 2000, whether any type of "stable and secure background for the bringing up of children" such as that provided by (a) a married couple, (b) an unmarried heterosexual couple, (c) a gay male couple, (d) a lesbian couple, (e) a lone parent or (f) other carers such as grandparents, other blood relations, foster parents and guardians will be given any preference over any other.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The objective of the Executive is to avoid differentiating between children on grounds of their family arrangements.

Ferry Services

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a specific date for the publication of the report commissioned in 1997 on ferry services on the Clyde and whether it will place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Sarah Boyack: The report concerning the Gourock-Dunoon ferry service will be published soon. A copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre when it is published.

Health

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the Scottish Integrated Workforce Planning Group and how its work will improve the quality and standard of care provided to patients.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Integrated Workforce Planning Group (SIWPG) has made its interim report to the Director of Human Resources for the NHS in Scotland, on the principles and key issues for workforce planning in the NHS environment. It has clearly identified for the NHS in Scotland that it is vital to integrate good planning and development of the workforce with service planning and redesign, to make sure that effective modern services can be provided and sustained.

  The SIWPG will now research good practice and appropriate mechanisms for workforce planning. It will make evidence-based recommendations on how workforce planning should be carried out and on the structure and support it needs. It will show how service changes can best be supported by planning the workforce in the short and long term, and by linking planning at all levels to improve the quality and standard of care provided to patients. This will give practical help to managers throughout the NHS in Scotland on how to make more effective use of existing and future investment to modernise the workforce.

Health Management

Dr Richard Simpson (Ochil) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what courses are taken by undergraduate doctors and nurses on health economics and health management and whether these are core classes or optional.

Henry McLeish: It is not possible for the Executive to break down its information on medical and nursing undergraduate courses by individual's choices of associated subjects. The detailed information as requested is not therefore available centrally. It may, however, be available from the individual universities and colleges.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the average elapsed time, by sheriff court, between final Proof and judgement, in (i) Small Claims, (ii) Summary Causes and (iii) Ordinary Causes at (a) October 1999, (b) December 1999, (c) January 2000 and (d) February 2000.

Mr Jim Wallace: Statistical information in the form requested is not held centrally. The length of time required to reach judgement in any case is a matter for the presiding sheriff. However in the case of Small Claims and Summary Cause actions the procedural rules provide that the sheriff may either pronounce his or her decision at the conclusion of a hearing or give it in writing within 28 days.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the average waiting time, by sheriff court, between application and hearing of Fatal Accident Enquiries, at (a) October 1999, (b) December 1999, (c) January 2000 and (d) February 2000.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Fatal Accident Enquiries, by sheriff court, have been applied for but have not yet been programmed for hearing.

Colin Boyd QC: Statistical information in the format requested is not available. The procedure followed in fixing Fatal Accident Inquiries is that the Procurator Fiscal will usually discuss with the Sheriff Clerk available dates for Inquiries and will then make enquiries with the next of kin and other parties to the FAI as to the suitability of the proposed dates. The parties to the FAI require to be given sufficient notice of the proposed date to enable them to make the necessary investigations and preparations.

  Once the suitability of a date has been established the Procurator Fiscal will make a formal application to the Sheriff Clerk for the FAI which will already have been provisionally programmed for a particular date. The formal application is often made only shortly before the date programmed for the hearing.

Lingerbay Quarry Report

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy of the Lingerbay Quarry report in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Sarah Boyack: The report remains confidential to the Scottish Ministers until a formal decision on the planning application is announced. At that time I will arrange for a copy of the report, and the decision letter, to be placed in the Information Centre.

Local Government Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made of the effect on local authority expenditure levels of (a) the 5% contribution towards housing benefit which local authorities are required to make, (b) the administrative costs associated with processing their housing benefit responsibilities and (c) the projected cost of any penalties imposed by the Department of Social Security; whether it will provide a breakdown by each local authority of what these costs were in the current financial year and its estimate for 2000-01, and whether these costs are taken into account when determining the local government finance settlement.

Mr Jack McConnell: The support to be paid to Scottish councils in 2000-01 for the element of housing benefit not met directly by the Department of Social Security and the support to cover the costs of administration of the benefit is set out in the table below.

  Housing benefit is a reserved matter and the Scottish Executive does not hold the additional information requested. There is no provision within the local government finance settlement to reimburse local authorities for any housing benefit payments made by councils outwith the terms of DSS legislation.

  



5.5%
Housing 

  Benefit
Residual 

  Subsidy

  

Housing 

  Benefit
Administration 

  Subsidy:
(Rent 

  rebates & allowances)

  




£ 

  million

  

£ 

  million

  



Aberdeen 

  City

  

1.745

  

0.521

  



Aberdeenshire

  

1.184

  

0.334

  



Angus

  

1.043

  

0.300

  



Argyll 

  & Bute

  

0.867

  

0.242

  



Clackmannanshire

  

0.579

  

0.162

  



Dumfries 

  & Galloway

  

1.509

  

0.427

  



Dundee 

  City

  

2.750

  

0.830

  



East 

  Ayrshire

  

1.584

  

0.422

  



East 

  Dunbartonshire

  

0.597

  

0.115

  



East 

  Lothian

  

0.866

  

0.260

  



East 

  Renfrewshire

  

0.509

  

0.118

  



City 

  of Edinburgh

  

4.913

  

1.557

  



Eilean 

  Siar

  

0.277

  

0.053

  



Falkirk

  

1.672

  

0.452

  



Fife

  

3.997

  

1.022

  



Glasgow 

  City

  

13.353

  

3.865

  



Highland

  

1.924

  

0.568

  



Inverclyde

  

1.287

  

0.358

  



Midlothian

  

0.782

  

0.224

  



Moray

  

0.688

  

0.197

  



North 

  Ayrshire

  

1.719

  

0.460

  



North 

  Lanarkshire 

  

4.357

  

1.105

  



Orkney

  

0.136

  

0.038

  



Perth 

  & Kinross

  

1.109

  

0.318

  



Renfrewshire

  

2.384

  

0.662

  



Scottish 

  Borders

  

1.026

  

0.308

  



Shetland

  

0.120

  

0.032

  



South 

  Ayrshire

  

1.174

  

0.316

  



South 

  Lanarkshire

  

3.364

  

0.902

  



Stirling

  

0.739

  

0.196

  



West 

  Dunbartonshire

  

1.481

  

0.426

  



West 

  Lothian

  

1.694

  

0.498

  



Scotland

  

61.428

  

17.289

Lone Parents

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make funding available to Gingerbread Scotland in both the immediate short term and the long term.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer to my earlier response of 17 March to Dr Richard Simpson (Ochil) on the issue of funding for Gingerbread Scotland.

National Health Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3875 by Susan Deacon on 24 February 1999, whether the announcement by the Minister for Health and Community Care of an extra £6 million for intensive care beds has affected the number of beds referred to in the answer and, if so, by how many.

Susan Deacon: I announced on 22 February that an additional £6.8 million was being made available to the NHS in Scotland to spend on intensive care and high dependency beds and on new equipment. It is for health boards, working with NHS Trusts, to determine how best to use the additional resources in light of local needs and circumstances.

  The Chief Medical Officer has established a short-life group to examine how intensive care and high dependency services can be improved. The group will look at ways of improving the flexibility of these services and of matching provision with need. Health boards are expected to take full account of the group’s recommendations when taking decisions about how their share of the additional £6.8 million should be used.

National Health Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assumption for wage inflation it has used for the year 2000-01 and by how much each pay award announced by the Review Bodies for Nurses, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine and Doctors and Dentists was above, or below, the wage inflation assumption.

Susan Deacon: It is not the Executive’s policy to divulge its assumptions about public sector pay increases. The costs of meeting the Pay Review Bodies awards in 2000-01 is estimated to be £88.2 million and these costs will be met from the additional resources made available to health boards for 2000-01.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many retired police officers have subsequently been re-hired for civilian work, broken down by police authority, in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally but I understand that only about 2% (less than 100) of the total 4,741 support staff are former police officers in receipt of an occupational pension.

Quigley Committee

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-851 by Henry McLeish on 5 November 1999, when the Quigley Committee will report to the Scottish Parliament and whether the Scottish Executive will respond to this report.

Henry McLeish: The Secretary of State for Education and Employment established a committee under the chairmanship of Sir George Quigley in December 1998, as required by section 25 (4) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, to review fee support for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the fourth year of first degree courses at Scottish institutions. The report has been laid today before the Scottish Parliament.

  The UK Government has accepted the recommendations addressed to it in the report.

  I am pleased to say that the Scottish Executive has accepted that a fourth year fee concession should be applied to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  The Executive will discuss with the UK Government the precise mechanism for paying those fees and the impact on student support. I expect this fee concession to come into effect for students who enter the first year of their courses in September 2001.

Rural Affairs

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific steps it is taking to deal with the current situation in the pig industry.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has actively encouraged public organisations to purchase home-produced pigmeat which is produced to very high health and welfare standards. In addition, extra marketing resources will be provided in the new financial year to support the marketing of Scottish pork and bacon. Currently, with the other Agriculture Ministers, I am exploring what other forms of assistance, financial or otherwise, might be available to this sector without breaching the very tightly drawn EU State Aid rules.

School Curriculum

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce the teaching of human and civil rights into the secondary school curriculum.

Mr Sam Galbraith: There are already many opportunities to study human and civil rights issues within the 5-14 curriculum, Standard Grade and Higher Still courses. Responsibility for the management and delivery of the curriculum rests with local authorities.

Sign Language

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken or plans to take following the debate on British Sign Language on 16 February 2000 and whether it has made or will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government to give official recognition to the language.

Jackie Baillie: Following on from the debate on British Sign Language (BSL) on 16 February, the Executive is currently considering how best to progress the issues raised including the provision of interpreters. The Executive will maintain close contact with the Department for Education and Employment which has commissioned UK-wide research on provision of BSL interpreters, and with the new GB wide Disability Rights Commission.

Tourism

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what was allocated and spent by the Scottish Tourist Board on hospitality in each of the last five years.

Henry McLeish: The Board do not show this separately in their accounts.

Tourism

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what was allocated and spent by the Scottish Tourist Board on its external relations department in each of the last five years.

Henry McLeish: The information, including staff and related costs, is as follows:

  


Financial 

  Year

  

Amount

  



1995-96

  

£382,000

  



1996-97

  

£340,000

  



1997-98

  

£359,000

  



1998-99

  

£343,000

  



1999-2000

  

£347,000

Unst

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2856 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 14 December 1999, whether it will detail its specific plans to tackle employment and economic difficulties on Unst.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: Further to my answer on 14 December 1999 (S1W–2856) local agencies and partners have continued to address the problems caused by the downsizing of RAF Saxa Vord.

  The Unst Joint Response Team, formed immediately after the announcement of the drawdown (August 1999) continues to meet regularly. The team has comprised Shetland Islands Council (SIC), Shetland Enterprise Company (SEC), Unst Community Council and the RAF. Membership was recently extended to include the Employment Service and Shetland’s Adult Guidance Network.

  I am also maintaining a close interest in the activity of the Unst Partnership, which has been formed to co-ordinate a regeneration plan for Unst which aims to broaden and deepen its economic base. I will expect the enterprise agencies to look closely at project ideas which emerge.

  Development staff from the enterprise network visit Unst regularly to give project advice. I understand that local partners are optimistic that a number of projects will be approved over the next few months, creating new jobs. Projects are also coming forward from Yell which, if successful, would lead to further job opportunities, including for people on Unst.

  Highlands & Islands Enterprise and SEC are taking the lead in developing an inward investment strategy for Shetland as a whole, with emphasis being placed on how incoming businesses can take advantage of the resources which would be created by the redundant MOD property assets.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Broadcasting

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has any plans to offer live broadcasts of parliamentary debates, similar to those available at www.ni-assembly.gov.uk, on the Internet.

Sir David Steel: The first live broadcast of a parliamentary event on the Internet in the UK was by the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999, for the Opening Ceremony. This provided a "proof of concept" that the Internet could be a broadcast medium for parliamentary work, and also provide a diversity of visual and textual information at the same time. The service provided was more comprehensive than that at the Northern Ireland Assembly

  Investigations are being carried out into the feasibility of broadcasting committee and plenary meetings on the Internet. This is particularly important for committee meetings since committee rooms have little space for the public.

  The feasibility study concerns options for hosting the server for the Internet broadcasting, bandwidth to support demand for video streaming at the interim accommodation, and video player application software.